Good Evening Everyone, Just wanted to know how many of you suffer from headaches that have been diagnosed with ms. All these strange neurological symptoms seem to come and go apart from leg weakness and extreme fatigue. I get these really strange headaches where I feel like Im going to collapse and find it hard to walk properly and lose my balance. These headaches seem to come on for a week or two everyday then go away for a few weeks and appear again. Also when I get these headaches it makes the weakness in my legs worse. The way I describe these headaches is like ive had a stroke. its very weird!!! Does anyone else suffer these same symptoms or could this be migraine on top of these neurological symptoms? Sorry in advance for the long post. Lisa x
Hello
My husband has Secondary Progressive MS and has suffered with headaches for years now. One neuro said def. not MS related but I have read research that suggest that people with MS do suffer more from headaches than the general population. Others often report a sharp stabbing pain. My husband has this and it is often followed by a very bad headache, he only said yesterday that he has a headache of some sort most of the time. Of course not all headaches are anything to do with MS so really you must discuss with your GP and neurologist. Husband has been referred to a pain clinic and has Diplofenac, but to be honest he finds Anadin extra (with the combination of pain killers and caffeine) most effective. He has been told that these are addictive but the Pain Management consultant said they are not and he could take them as and when. So at the end of the day you pay your money and take your choice as to who you believe.
But I would certainly advise you to discuss cause with medical professionals and see what advice they can offer.
Best wishes
People with MS are more likely to have migraine than people without MS, but there is no official link that I know of.
It is possible for migraine to be confused with MS because they can cause all sorts of neurological symptoms and some people get enough migraine for it to appear to be almost constant. Migraine can even cause brain lesions and it can occur without headache. All of which can make it a serious alternative diagnosis to MS in some cases.
There a number of different migraine preventatives including betablockers and meds that are also used as neuropathic painkillers (e.g. amitriptyline and pregabalin) so anyone who is having regular migraine should ask their GP for something or, ideally, a referral to a headache specialist neuro. Migraine should be prevented. It is not “just” a headache!
A lot of people find painkillers are ineffective for migraine. This is often because migraine can shut down the digestive system (causing nausea and, for some people, vomiting) which of course means that oral painkillers don’t get digested. To overcome this, you either need a painkiller that you don’t swallow or you need to take an anti-nausea pill with your painkillers.
I saw a migraine specialist last year and he suggested I try vitamin B2 supplements as a preventative since I didn’t want to add yet more meds to my intake. I was a bit surprised, but went and did a bit of research and found that, just like he said, the research was very encouraging: a supplement of 400mg B2 a day can massively reduce migraine in most people. I tried it and was lucky: my migraine has gone from 3/4 a week to 1 a month, if that 
If anyone fancies trying this, I was told to increase my dose slowly (I started on 100mg a day and increased it to 200mg after a week, etc) and I’ve found it best to take the pills with food. Beware, it turns urine bright yellow!
None of which really answers your original post, sorry! I would say, yes, this could be migraine. You need to get it investigated though, ideally by a headache specialist neuro. If it is migraine, a preventative might make the world of difference.
As far as the does anyone else get similar question, amongst other things, a bad migraine makes my legs weak, my sensory symptoms go on overdrive, my right eye droop (ptosis), my speech slur, my vision blur and my fatigue and balance worsen. Such fun!
Karen x
I suffer with migraines. Mine seem to be hormone related and they do make my legs worse, my vision is affected (blurry and sometimes it seems like there is a ‘film’ over my eyes) and my fatigue is much worse. I’m also quite wobbly for a day or two afterwards. Of course some of this could be attributable to the fact that I cannot keep anything down for 24-48 hours during a migraine attack!
Tracey x
Hi Lisa,
Yes MS does cause headaches sometimes and there are a host of complaints that can cause headaches a symptom. One in particular does cause very bad migraines and is misdiagnosed as MS a lot; Hughes Syndrome or Sticky Blood.
See http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/
George
I too get regular headaches. Seems to be about4/5 a week. If its not a full blown banger, i still get a dull niggly one